New Horizon
New Horizon is the first story in the House Cats series. Evie squirmed and struggled, but the attacker's grip only got firmer. '' ''How would she get out of this one?... Smudge hit the fence. He couldn't run any further. Fur bristling furiously, he swiped out a paw, but it barely skimmed the ginger tom's muzzle... ''Jasper leaped on the dog's back, clawing frantically. Blood oozed out of the claw-wounds, staining the dog's black fur scarlet. He was winning! But the dog was stronger... '' ''He felt himself hit the ground with a large thud and saw the dog tower over him, its muzzle beding down closer... '' Evie has always dreamed of living a wild life, with no fences that mark the edge of her borders. Driven by curiosity, Evie starts to stray further than her garden. Little does she know, there are groups of rough, wild cats living on the outskirts of Brindy Hills and they are getting closer to the human town every day. Smudge lives happily with his humans at Brindy Hills. He has no borders or limits to how far he can wander. Could a house cat have a better life than that? But soon some new cats move in. And these new cats are invading his territory... Jasper lives at his human's horse place. There is plenty of space to roam and plenty of food so he never goes hungry. The only thing is - will those dogs ever shut up? Three house cats. Four enemies. Who will win? Chapter One - Evie Although it was dark, I could still see. My whiskers brushed against the fence that marked the limits of my garden. My ears were pricked and all senses were alert. I could hear movement up ahead, a small scraping, scuffling noise and guessed it was some kind of mouse. Placing my paws carefully on the narrow flower bed, I crouched closer to the ground. I could see the small grey creature now. Its paler fur glowed in the shadows. I lunged forwards, slapping my paw down on the mouse’s tail. The mouse’s shrill squeak cut through the still night’s air. I jumped slightly, my grip loosening on the tail. The mouse squirmed free and disappeared into the shadows. Hissing in frustration, I whipped around and leaped back up the stone path. I would never be able to catch up with the mouse and its cry would have scared off any other prey that may have been lurking in the flowerbed. Giving up, I took the path back up to my house. Inside an assortment of strange objects were casting sinister shadows up the walls. I shivered although the air inside was stifling hot. The ground beneath my paws was slippery and I dug her claws into the smooth, hard floor. I knew my human’s were very generous for letting me live under their roof but I’d still preferred to sleep outside in the garden – even if it was rather cold. Reluctantly, I padded over the slippery floor to me bed. It felt squishy and uncomfortable underneath me. Wrinkling my nose in distaste, I curled up on the soft, red material. Next to me, I could hear the radiator hiss and the television clicked. The hair on the back of my neck prickled. How could I ever sleep? Up above me the floorboards creaked and groaned and I heard heavy footsteps. Muffled voices drifted down the staircase and I covered my ears with my paws, trying to block it all out. But the voices kept coming, getting louder all of the time. I gave a small hiss of frustration and got to my paws. There was no way I could ever sleep through this. Growling as my paws slipped, I leaped back outside. I sighed in relief as the night-cool air ruffled my fur. The close-cut grass was moist underpaw as I crossed the garden. I leaped up onto the fence, taking in all of the night sounds. Ahead of me a huge field stretched out, its long grass swaying in the wind. A small wooden shed was placed at the corner of the field. Through the day it was used as a horse shelter. I loved watching the ponies gallop around the pen or watch them graze on the lush green grass. Sometimes I dreamed of being a horse. I knew it was stupid and just... Well – plain weird. But if I were a horse I wouldn’t have to eat bland, dry pellets or soft mush. I wouldn’t have to drink metallic water or make my dirt in a box. Never again would I have to sleep on the red bed with all of the creepy noises or be confined to my tiny garden. As a horse I would be able to run free all day, eat the lush green grass and drink from puddles. I would sleep with my friends, the only sounds would be the night-noises and the soft breathing of the other horses. Moonlight turned my white pelt silver, a cool breeze ruffling my fur. I gazed thoughtfully out at the field before leaping down lightly into my garden. The soil felt soft beneath me. I nosed my way through the jungle of plants. My human’s liked to come out and water them or plant more brightly coloured flowers. I lay down behind a sickly sweet smelling bush with heavy blue flowers. Sleep washed over me like a wave lapping the shore. Sunlight dappled my icy white fur. I yawned, my jaws stretching wide, breathing in the sweet floral scent of the bush. My stomach was grumbling loudly and there was no way I could get back to sleep now. Giving up to hunger, I scrabbled to my paws and stretched luxouriously. My jaws parted, ears pricked and eyes strained. I searched the garden for any trace of life. Nothing. I was making my way up to the house when I stopped in my tracks. No way did I want to eat that mush my human’s fed me. I could just hunt elsewhere. A surge of excitement washed over me as I leaped down into the horse field on the other side of the fence. I had never ever left my garden before. I was soon lost in a jungle of long grass, following the faint scent of a mouse. Setting my paws carefully on the ground, I tried to avoid the big piles of muck. The mouse scent was getting closer as I stalked forwards. I bounded forwards lightly, making sure not to make a sound. My hunger was making me impatient. As I weaved around a sharp corner, I saw the tiny creature. It was sniffing the ground, a small seed between its two front paws. Purring to myself, I lunged forwards. The warm body was right beneath my paws. I hooked my claws into it and through it upwards, sending it in an ark across the air. The mouse landed dazed on the ground. I leaped over towards it and flung it up again. The mouse lay limp on the ground, its side rising and falling frantically. I was about to finish it off when a rustling in the jungle of grass distracted me. I turned around to see a smudge of grey and white shoot forwards. My ears flattened against my head as the grey smudge disappeared with my mouse. My mouse. I hissed angrily. That mangy, flea-bitten prey-stealer! Bunching my muscles, I charged forwards after the grey cat. No cat would get away with this! Grass flashed past as I raced forwards, my paws hardly touching the ground. As I spotted the grey cat up ahead I felt new strength and plunged forwards. But as I caught up with the cat it spun around. Suddenly I was knocked to the ground. The cat was surprisingly heavy and its weight crushed me down.